Beauty and the Beast (Gajevy Fanfic)

Chapter 10

A few days later, they were once again visited by Wendy, who told them that Droy was finally awake, and he and Jet would be allowed to return home in a few weeks. Those few weeks passed quickly enough. Levy was spending nearly every day in the forest with Gajeel, and they alternated between him teaching her to fight, and her teaching him how to read. Sometimes, they'd end up just talking, but Levy realized soon enough that Gajeel did not like talking about himself, so most of the time, she just told him stories about the trouble she used to get in when she was younger, or some of the fights Jet had gotten into.

On the day that Jet and Droy would be coming home, Levy decided that she would go to the village to meet them. The walk to the village was peaceful. She didn't see Gajeel, but she didn't really expect to. He tried to stay well away from the village and any roads leading to it. She found Polyushka's house just as she was chasing the partially healed men out of her house, broomstick in hand, spouting profanities.

Levy laughed as she slammed the door in their bemused faces, and her brothers whipped round to face her. "Levy!" They both cried at the same time, and rushed at her to hug her. "Hey, hold on a sec! You didn't walk here alone, did you?!" Jet demanded.

Rolling her eyes, Levy nodded. "Guys, its broad daylight! I wasn't about to be attacked. Seriously. As you can see, I've escaped the deadly cursed forest without even a twig in my hair." She mocked. "And besides, I'm learning how to fight now. Soon, I'll be able to walk through the forest on my own and beat the shit out of anything that dares attack me!"

Both her brothers sighed. "You're not going to listen to us, no matter how much sense we're talking, are you?" Droy asked.

Cheerfully, Levy shook her head. "Nope!" She announced, grinning.

"Just be really careful, ok?" Jet checked, and Levy nodded quickly. "Should we head home, then?" He asked, and three of them set off. "So what have you been up to, Levy?" Jet asked as they entered the forest.

Levy noticed that both her brothers tensed as they passed under the branches, and sighed sadly. She wished she could tell them about Gajeel, and how he wouldn't hurt them, but she didn't know whether they'd listen to her. They could be just as irritatingly stubborn as she could. "I've been... spending most of my time with a new friend." She said eventually. "He's really nice, and he's the one whose been teaching me to fight." She told them.

Both her brothers suddenly got identical skeptical, unimpressed looks on their faces. "A guy, huh?" Jet asked, cracking his knuckles. "'Really 'nice', you say? I hope you warned him what we'll do to him if he hurts you, right?"

Levy laughed awkwardly, her hand unconsciously moving to scratch at the edge of her bandage. "No, I didn't tell him." She replied, making the decision not to tell her brothers about Gajeel. Her expression became stern. "And I don't want you two blockheads scaring him off, ok?" She checked firmly.

"If we can scare him off, he's not good enough for you." Droy said stubbornly. "If us being over-protective scares him off, then how can we be sure he'd protect you when we can't, huh?"

Levy couldn't help but smile at that. When she thought about it, she didn't think that Gajeel would be scared off by Jet and Droy. He wasn't the type to be intimidated by anyone. Though, he might be convinced to leave if he thought he was putting her in danger. Still, Levy's smile didn't fade. She knew that she was safer than ever with Gajeel by her side. "Ok!" She said cheerfully. Jet and Droy both stared at her. She glanced over her shoulder at them and beamed. "I trust Gajeel. He wouldn't let you two scare him off."

Droy smiled. "Sounds like a decent guy then." He agreed. "I'm happy for you, Levy." He added, ruffling her hair.

Jet, however, narrowed his eyes. "I'm not gonna believe you 'til I see it for myself. When can we meet him?" He asked.

Levy sighed. "I don't know. He doesn't like being around people much. He tends to keep to himself mostly." She added. "He might not want to be surrounded by people, specially people like you two." She added teasingly.

"Hey!" Jet and Droy yelped, and Levy laughed, sprinting ahead of them before they could grab her and tickle her or something. "Get her!" Droy yelled, and they both charged after, chuckling. Levy let out a little yelp between her giggles when she realized they were gaining on her, and ran faster, trying to escape them.

A sudden, and rather loud, yelp caused her to stumble to a stop, all the laughter wiped from her face. They weren't too far from her house now, and she'd recognized that voice. She turned, searching the trees for a sign of him. Jet and Droy caught up with her, took one look at her face, and drew their swords. Another pained growl came, and Levy sprinted in the direction it had come from. "Levy! Hold up!" Droy yelled, sounding surprised.

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